Phoenix Rising
by Miss Strange
Summary: The Bladebreakers must deal with a killer vampire and the problems she brings into their lives! And it seems that Boris is back badder than ever and he's teamed up with an evil being. How will our favorite bladers get out of this one?
1. Chapter 1

I finally got around to fixing the chapters! Whoop!

Chapter1:

A Trapped Soul

It was cold and dark. The only light came from the moon, outside the barred windows. There was a musty smell in the air, made up of the blood of humans and animals, and the smell of dead rats. A prisoner was trapped in this jail cage, although it's much worse than that. Her very soul is imprisoned here by the unseen chains of fate that bind her.

Her gray eyes were lifeless, dull; no longer does she have a reason to continue her life. Her waist length gray hair was stained with dried blood. She had a white scarf as a shirt; it was secured with a tight knot. She wore black baggy pants; it was as if she was pain in human form. Dangling from her right ear were two silver earrings.

A cold, harsh wind blew in through the window and scraped the prisoner's skin. She didn't budge at the cold; she just sat there as the chains that attach her to the wall rattled.

**KNOCK**!** KNOCK**! Two knocks were heard from the metal door.

"Akane, here's your dinner." A male voice said kindly as he pushed a raccoon through a small door at the bottom. "Akane?" he asked again.

She didn't answer or move. She just sat there, staring into the depths of despair that consumed her since the day she was born.

"Akane?" the boy behind the door slowly unlocked it and stepped inside. He stepped on the raccoon's tail as he entered the dirty dungeon; it hissed at him but he pushed it aside. "Akane?" he sat down in front of the captive. He pushed her bangs out of her face, placed his hand under her chin, and gently pulled her head to face him. Through her eyes, he saw her loneliness and her pain. He sighed depressingly. "…I'm sorry…I'm sorry it had to be this way…" he whispered and placed a hand on her head. A single tear fell from his eyes.

She can't see anything, she can't hear anything, she can't feel anything. No matter how loud you yell in her ear, no matter how close you get to her face, no matter how many times you tell her that you love her, she won't respond. No matter what happens. She's trapped herself in her heart, trapped herself with the pain she's seen, the pain she's endured, and the pain she's caused. She's alive and yet she's dead. Nothing can change that.


	2. Chapter 2

Finally! Another chapter rewritten! I'm on a roll! lol. Oh, forgot the disclaimer: Don't own except for characters unknown and the plot and yada yada yada.

Chapter2:

A Tear of Pain

It was bright in the early morning, but none of the sun's golden rays reached Akane. She sat in a dark corner, staring at the sun's clutches lighting up the stone ground. If she dared touch it, she might just end her life. Sometimes, a voice inside her head would encourage her to touch it, to die. She would always block out its voice, but she didn't know why. The voice, every morning, every day, it would tempt her to stand in front of the window and burn to death. Still, she didn't know why she continued to live. Maybe it was because of the speck of hope was in her heart. She wished and hoped and prayed that one day, she could really live her life to the fullest extent. Maybe that was what kept her going her entire life.

Akane never moved from her spot the entire night. She sat there, drowning in pain. Footsteps echoed through the wall. The door unlocked and a man with purple hair and goggles stood in the way, a menacing smiled placed on that butt-ugly face of his.

"Hello, Akane." his voice send shivers down the raccoon's back in the corner. "Akane," she didn't answer, she didn't even acknowledge his existence. "Akane," still not answering; this got him mad. "AKANE!" He walked over to Akane and wrapped his hand around her bloody, fragile neck. This caught her attention. She grabbed his wrist and pierced his flesh. He laughed at her pain. "Now listen, I have a simple job for you." His menacing grin grew wider.

**With the Bladebreakers:**

"The mall? The mall? THE MALL?" Tyson was waving his arm wildly in the air, the team took a step away from him.

"Do you know him?" a girl asked as she passed by Hilary.

"Nope." she answered with a disgusted glance in Tyson's direction.

"KAI GAVE US A DAY OFF AND YOU DRAG US TO THE MALL!"

"Look Tyson, I'm giving my cousin a surprise birthday party this Saturday so I need materials!" Hilary glared. "Besides, this won't take more than 4-5 hours."

"4-5 HOURS!" Daichi gasped. "That'll take FOREVER!"

"Oh shut up!" Hilary spat.

Kai rolled his eyes at their immaturity.

"Oh my gosh, it's Kai Hiwatari!" a girl whispered, pointing at Kai.

"That's Kai? I thought THAT was Kai!" her friend pointed to Tyson, rubbing his stomach in hunger.

"Eww! That's Tyson."

"Hey!"

Everyone turned around towards the source of the voice.

"Lee! Kevin! Mariah! Gary!" Ray ran up to them and embraced his friends tightly. He didn't know his friends would be arriving at Japan but either way he was excited and happy. He couldn't wait to spend days with his old team. Just the thought of it made him smile.

"MAX!" Max turned around to be face to face with the All Starz. "Rick! Emily! Michael! Eddy! What are you guys doing here?" Max smiled as he ran up to them.

Emily cleared her throat. "'Guys?'" she raised a brow. "Girls too." Max smiled nervously. 'Not a good thing to get her mad.' Max told himself; it was scary when Emily was mad...that lap top was made for more than just anaylizing opponents...

"Nice to see you guys again!" Eddy beamed.

"You too!" Tyson grinned goofily.

"Tyson," Tyson turned to the owner of the voice. "Ozuma! Miriam! Joseph! Dunga!"

"Are all of the teams coming because of the mall?" Hilary whispered. "Don't know, but they seem happy, um…with the exception of Kai though." Kenny whispered back.

"Hey!"

"Mathilda! Aaron! Miguel! Claude!" Daichi grinned. "Wassup!"

"Tyson!" he turned around yet again and met Raul and Julia. "Raul! Julia!" He ran up to them but stopped midway. "…wait a minute…why is everyone here?"

"I invited them."

Daichi gasped, "Mr. Dickenson?"

"Yes, I thought it's been too long since you guys," the girls interrupted him when they cleared their throat angrily. "AND girls, so I thought everyone should stay at a mansion I rented."

"Seriously?" Tyson gasped.

"No way!" Mariah laughed.

"AWSOME!" Daichi punched the air.

In the shadows, a girl was watching Mr. Dickenson closely; waiting for the perfect time to strike.

"Go outside, my driver's gonna take us there."

"ALRIGHT!" Mathilda shouted.

'Perfect.' Akane jumped out of the darkness with inhuman speed, claws outstretched.

"Hey, Mr. Dickenson, I--" Mathilda stepped in front of Mr. Dickenson, in front of Akane's attack. Instead of piercing Mr. Dickenson's heart, she pierced Mathilda's. "AH!" she fell to the ground in pain. "Miguel…Claude…Aaron…" she whispered; tears filled her eyes as anger filled theirs. Her heart slowly stopped beating; her eyelids felt heavy. She closed them and let darkness consume her. A single tear dropped as her heart beat its last beat.

"Mathilda…" Miguel whispered.

Akane bent down and kicked at Mr. Dickenson's feet, not giving Mathilda a sorrowful look. Mr. Dickenson stumble to the floor as a result of the attack.

"Oof!" he grunted.

She stood over him, ready to kill.

"NO!" Joseph attempted a punch but Akane was stronger than she looked. She clutched his clentched fist and twsited his arm. He cried out in pain, falling to the ground as he clutched his broken arm.

"Joseph!" Miriam ran towards her fallen brother but Akane stabbed his heart with two fingers. "JOSEPH!" She caught her brother as he fell. "Joseph," tears filled her eyes as gazed at her deceased brother. Hugging her brother, she stared up at the ceiling and screamed his name at the top of her lungs.

Kevin charged towards her. "Stop it!" he screamed. Akane rushed towards him and stabbed him in the stomach and then with a swift movement, she sliced his head off of his neck.

'This is getting out of hand,' Akane thought as she cracked her fingers. 'Too many unnecessary deaths.'

"Hey you!" Raul held a chair, aiming it towards Akane. "Back off!" Akane broke the chair with a strong punch and delivered a kick to his stomach, sending the boy flying backwards into the wall. He fell to the ground, revealing a dent.

"RAUL!" Julia fell on her knees in panic and sorrow. "Raul…" Tears began to flow down her cheeks. "My brother..." she whispered.

"Murderer!" Emily dashed towards her with a tennis racket (Where did she get it? I don't know...) Emily swung the weapon as hard as she could but Akane was much too fast. Evading the attack by leaping into the air, she did a spin and kicked her head. They heard a crack and she fell to the ground.

"Emily!" Max exclaimed, rushing to the girl's side with the rest of her teammates close behind.

Akane turned back to Mr. Dickenson, "Now it's time for your inevitable death." she muttered.

Mr. Dickenson stared wide eyed in horror at Akane. He got up and dashed towards the exit but Akane charged after him. She positioned her hand to pierce his heart. Akane lunged towards him, her claws outstretched, only inches away from making contact...so close...just a few more seconds, but her plan fell to pieces when she was dragged backwards with her scarf. Instantly forgetting about Mr. Dickenson, Akane turned around to glare at the person who dared to interfere with her mission.

Kai took off his scarf; calling Rei to his side, the neko pinned Akane's arms behind her back as Kai tied his scarf around them like cuffs. The two boys stood up, wiping sweat from their eyebrows as their bodies relaxed.

Kenny walked to Kai's side, "…You know that that's not gonna stop her, right?" Kenny said.

Kai nodded, "She can get out physically…but look," he looked down at her. Akane managed to get her self in a sitting position but she stared into the depths of despair once again. "She can't do it mentally."

**After the Police Came: **

"What is your name? Answer me!" a police yelled in frustration at the girl before him. Akane sat with her legs pulled closely to her chest and her arms wrapped around them tightly. She stared into space, never coming back to Earth, lost in the cycle of pain as she once again confined herself in her heart, away from the world, away from the light.

"Let me try Martin." An old man gently pushed the police officer, Martin, in a seat as he rubbed his forehead in frustration. "Young lady, what is your name?" he asked calmly, a small smile on lips.

Her eyes closed halfway; her mouth opened. "Yes?" the old man and Martin grinned hopefully. Just by closing her mouth, Akane crushed their prayers as easily as a kid crushes an ant underneath his finger. The old man sighed. "I don't know if we should send her to a mental institute or keep her here. She might kill everyone there if she was irritated!" the old man groaned.

"This is a no-win situation…" Martin moaned.

"I guess we'll just have to try again tomorrow." They left her confinement and lazily locked up behind them, turning off the lights as they left.

Akane was then left with the darkness, the darkness that haunted her dreams, plagued her every waking moment, the darkness that ruined her life, the darkness that IS her life, and the darkness that will always be her prison, whether she's in chains or not, whether she has boundaries or not. But she will never be free, physically or mentally, not as long the shadows have their menacing clutches on her.

Akane buried her head in her knees.

A single tear fell.


	3. Chapter 3

**Talking in a different language.**

Chapter3:

Living with a Murderer

It was bright in the morning at 9 AM. Everyone was at the table, sulking, some crying, others zoning out. Kai canceled practice after what had happened yesterday. Instead, they were going to the funerals. Miriam hasn't said a word since the event, the Barthez Battalion kept zoning out of reality, Mariah kept crying, Ray was always on the rooftop, no one was the same. Even Tyson and Daichi, they never whined, they never even said the words 'I'm hungry' or 'I'm starving' in the same sentence! Kai got ticked off at what everyone was doing and so he left to take a walk.

Kai decided to walk through an abbey, not wanting to be seen by his crazed fans. 'That girl…' his thoughts wandered back to the girl from yesterday; he's been having thoughts about her lately. 'Could she be…' he thought of the way she moved. Her movements weren't like any human and her skin was unusually pale.

As he passed by a jail, he stopped abruptly. He turned towards it and stared at the entrance. His thoughts began to decide which decision is best. He entered the building.

"Who are you?" a police officer raised her eyebrow at Kai.

He ignored her; Kai really wasn't in the mood for a conversation.

She cleared her throat impatiently.

Kai narrowed his eyes at her, "What?"

"Who are you?" she repeated the question; you could see the veins throbbing in her forehead.

"I'm here to visit someone, the girl you arrested yesterday."

"You know her?"

"No,"

"Hmm…" she stared at Kai suspiciously before leading the way to Akane.

**Knock Knock! **

"Yes?" a voice asked through the other side of the door.

"A visitor's here to visit the girl."

The door suddenly slammed open; an old man standing in the way, his eyes show frustration.

"Do you know her?" he asked hopefully.

"…No…" Kai answered in his usual monotone voice.

The man sighed hopelessly, his hope once again crushed. "Thank you Anna," he smiled sadly towards the officer.

"No problem, I hope you get everything worked out." She returned his smile and left.

The old man let Kai through, "Were you in the event?" he asked.

Kai nodded, staring at the pale girl sitting on the ground, her head bowed in shame. He noticed that there was a police officer in the room also. He stood up and walked over to Kai. "Hello, my name is Martin Tachibana, that man over there," he pointed to the old man, "Is Hito Haragii."

"Kai Hiwatari."

"Nice to meet you Kai." Hito smiled.

"Why are you in here?" Kai raised a brow.

"Well," Martin glanced at the girl and then at Hito. "You see, we can't get her to talk, eat, even move! Whenever she moves, it's either to wrap her arms around her legs, breathe, or blink!" he yelled irritated. Martin slid his hand through his hair in frustration.

Kai stared at the girl curiously. He sat on one knee in front of her. "Who are you?" he whispered, mostly to himself than to her.

She slowly lifted her head to face him. **Who are you?** Martin and Hito quickly glanced at each other.

'What is he saying?' Martin wondered. To them, it sounded as if he was speaking incoherent gibberish that only insane people **think** they understand.

**You can understand me, can't you?** Kai asked again, patience and sorrow showing in his voice and his eyes instead of the usual sarcasm and anger.

She nodded slowly.

Martin and Hito's eyes widen in amazement.

**What's your name?** he asked calmly.

She opened her mouth to speak but then shut it hesitantly. She was afraid, Kai realized that fact. He understood that someone in her position would be afraid, he could tell that she had a horrible life, he could tell that she wanted so much to be free, to fly like a bird and soar the sky without anything holding her back.

**I won't hurt you,**

She opened her mouth to try once again but shut it out of fear.

'Maybe I should show her.' Kai thought.

_es, words mean nothing,_Kai heard his faithful bit-beast say. Kai raised his hand, moving it towards Akane; her eyes widened in fright and she scooted back into the wall, cringing at the thought of making any contact. He pushed her bangs out of her face; her body tensed but then relaxed a little when he didn't hurt her in any way.

**What's your name? **he asked again, his patience never wearing.

"…A-…A-…Akane…" she whispered, staring into his crimson orbs.

"Kai." he answered.

"Oh my," Hito gasped, "You really have a knack at this! Is it okay if we could call you just incase this happens again?"

Kai nodded, his usual glare in place. "…Can I take her to an acquaintance's house?" he asked.

Martin glanced at Hito.

"I believe that she's been doing some killing around here."

"Yes she has," Martin sighed, "A lot of killing..."

"I think someone's after her."

"T-that's absurd! Why would anyone be after her! She's not from the underworld or contains mystical powers or anything!"

"Exactly, why would anyone be after her when she's seems normal enough."

"What do you mean 'normal enough'?" Hito asked hesitantly, as if afraid do know.

"Her movements, her skin, she doesn't seem normal." Kai pointed out.

"…I-I guess that is true…" Martin agreed, his hand tucked underneath his chin in thought.

"So, can I?" Kai asked again.

"Um, sure, but she's still in jail, so if she causes you any trouble, feel free to lock her up." Martin said. "Oh, and here's some chains to keep her tied." He gave Kai some chains and the key.

Kai placed the chains around her wrists and led her out of the room.

"Interesting fellow, isn't he?" Hito said as soon as he knew that Kai was far enough so that he couldn't hear.

Martin nodded, "Yes, he is."

Akane hissed in pain at the sudden brightness before quickly jumping into the shadows, glaring at the sun and the people.

"Get out of there," Kai said impatiently. "We don't have all day." The kindness and understanding didn't seem to last very long...

She hissed at him and back away when she saw that his hand was reaching towards her. She glared it angrily and tried biting it but Kai evaded the attack by pulling his hand back.

"Come on," he said, reaching for the chains. He quickly grabbed it and pulled her out of the shadows.

She hissed at the sunlight and struggled against his hold on her chains to get back into the darkness.

"Fine, you want to avoid the sunlight, then let's avoid the sunlight." Kai yanked her chains so that she would follow him instead of dwelling around here. They entered an alleyway; Akane stopped struggling against his hold and followed him, her despair returning.

They walked in silence with except for the clinking of chains and their breathing. Akane stared at everything, intrigued at the "devices" that was around them. Never, has she seen anything like this.

They walked out of the alley and into daylight. Again, she hissed at it, all of the misery was replaced with blind anger.

'Here we go again.' Kai thought irritably as he struggled to keep his hold on her chains. Eventually, he was able to pull her into the dojo.

"Hey homey!" Tyson's grandpa greeted as Kai and Akane entered the kitchen. "Whoa!" he gaped at Akane. "Who's the dudett?" he then noticed that she was in chains. "…And why's she in chains?"

"Don't get too attached to her, she's a murderer." Kai rolled his eyes as he led Akane towards the room the team was staying in.

"Oh, okay." Tyson's grandpa said simply, but then stopped and stared into space for awhile. His eyes then widened, "…YOU BROUGHT A MURDERER INTO MY DOJO!"

"Hey Kai, you're--" Max immediately shut his mouth once he saw who was with him. A picture of Emily flashed through his mind as his eyes showed pain, but then they darkened.

"What's she doing here?" Lee growled, standing up and ready to pounce upon her in fury. "Isn't she suppose to be in jail?" he narrowed his eyes at her as she bared her fangs in response.

"She's with me."

"Kai, you've just brought a murderer in my house, that's the stupidest thing you've EVER done besides joining our opponents' team!" Tyson glared.

Mariah hid behind Ray while everyone else glared at Akane; one thing on their mind: revenge.

"Get out of my house," Tyson ordered.

Akane didn't answer but held her glare.

"I said, 'get out of my house'."

"Don't waste your breath Tyson, she won't answer you." Kai said coldly as he walked towards another door.

"Kai you doofus! Why'd you bring a freakin killer here!" Michael yelled.

Kai ignored him and walked towards his bed and pulled Akane down. He tied her to a hook in the wall that he installed today, he thought it would come in handy and true enough, he thought right. "Don't move." Kai instructed.

"Like I can..." she muttered, sitting down and crossing her arms. She glared at everyone who dared to make eye contact with her.

"Don't kill her," Kai commanded before he left. "That goes for you too," Kai glared at the Michael who was holding a baseball bat, ready to strike Akane once Kai was out of sight. Michael sighed and cursed under his breath as he placed the bat down. After he was sure that nobody was gonna kill anyone, Kai left the room.

"Great, now we're stuck in the room with an assassin!" Kenny sighed.

"It could be worse: you could be stuck with 2 assassins!" Dizzy said, trying to lighten the mood but failing miserably.

"Not now Dizzy." Miriam said, glaring ice daggers at Akane.

Kai came back in with a cup of red liquid in it.

"What is that?" Mariah asked disgusted. "Here," Kai handed it to Akane.

She took it cautiously, sniffed it, took a small sip, and then drank the entire thing.

"You still didn't answer my question," Mariah placed her hands on her hips impatiently.

"Blood," he answered simply.

"BLOOD?" her eyes widened. Kai smirked at her reaction. "She's drinks blood! But that can only mean one thing: she's a vampire!" she clung to Ray's arm. "Whose blood was it?"

"Mine." Kai replied as he sat down.

"Yours?"

"Do you understand Japanese?" Kai said impatiently. "Yes, it's mine!"

Mariah hid behind Ray once more.

"Calm down Kai, she was just asking." Ray advised.

Akane listened to every word they said, intrigued at what they were discussing about. She was trapped in a dungeon for so long; it wasn't everyday that she was able to be around people who didn't whack her...although they tried...

"Shouldn't we keep an eye on her?" Rick raised a brow, every now and then eyeing Akane suspiciously.

"He's right guys, we really should be figuring out who's gonna be watching her." Max agreed.

"Well, it can't be any of us since we're leaving." Eddy said.

"What?" Max gasped. "How come?"

"Sorry Max, but we can't live under the same roof as a murderer."

Max sighed disappointedly. He didn't want his friends to leave; it had been months since they saw each other and in only two days, they were already leaving. "…It's okay…I understand…"

"Yeah, we're going too," Gary said.

"Alright, say how to everyone for me." Ray smiled sadly.

"…We're going too…" Claude announced.

"Bye," everyone said as he 3 teams left.

"At least you guys are staying." Daichi grinned.

"Sorry, but I have to go also." Julia got up and left. "Take care," she smiled, then turned to Akane and glared.

"Are you guys leaving too?" Hilary asked.

"Nope, we don't live very far so we'll be staying." Ozuma grinned.

Grandpa then walked in. "Turn—wait, where are the other dudes and dudetts?"

"…They left…" Tyson answered.

"Oh, well, turn off the lights and get some shut-eye cause tomorrow you're gonna wake up pretty early to move into the mansion." He handed Kai a blanket and pillow, "F-For h-her." he stuttered, then quickly left.

Tyson turned off the lights and got into bed, same for everyone else. Kai placed the blanket and pillow next to Akane and got into his corner. Ray and Max sat in the dark, disappointed that their friends couldn't stay. Ray finally laid down and fell asleep. It's amazing how mourning for your friends can use up a lot of energy!

Akane stared at him, sensing their misery, feeling it, and also, feeling guilty. "…Sorry…" she said.

"Huh?" Max stared at her. "For what?" he blinked confusingly at her.

Akane didn't answer and instead, closed her eyes to try and let sleep consume her. But, as usual, it refused, and so she was forced to spend another night staring into space.


	4. Chapter 4

Crap! I had to rewrite chapter 4 because I accidentally replaced it with chapter five! Crap! ...sigh... hope you enjoy! I've just a few more chapters to replace! Let's just hope I don't make that same mistake twice...

Jin: If you're new, then review!

Chapter 4:

Vacation: Ready and Set!

"Is everyone done packing?" Mr. Dickenson asked, gazing at Tyson as the boy dragged his freakishly large suitcase. 'What did that boy fill his suitcase with!' he thought in amusment.

"Yeah, I think so," Tyson grunted, lifting his suitcase and then dropping it in the compartment at the back of the limo.

"No, wait, where's Kai?" Miriam asked, looking around for the cold and lonesome blader, but he was nowhere to be seen.

"He's probably getting that killing machine," Dunga snarled, crossing his arms over his chest. "I don't know why he insists on bring that demon!"

"He probably feels sorry for her, after all, you can tell that both have had a horrible past." Ray said, leaning against the black limo and staring up at the cloudless sky.

It was eight A.M. Bright and early in the morning, the birds chirped and people were getting ready for work or another summer day of fun! The trees rustled with the summer wind and a few pink petals dropped from the heavens. It was the perfect day for a vacation; everyone was absolute thrilled. Even Max was jumping up and down, and he didn't even have breakfast!

Hilary wiped the sweat from her forehead, "Ew, I'm sweating and I didn't even do much!"

Suddenly, they heard glass shatter into thousands of pieces, Akane's chains rattling, hisses, more hisses, even more hisses, and then...silence...

"What in the world?" Max took a step forward towards the house. "Kai...?"

Right when he said that, Kai stepped outside with Akane's chains in his hands. She hissed at the smiling sun but with a glare from Kai it changed to a low growl. Gently shoving her inside the limo, he then slipped inside, Ozuma following..

"What happened?" Ozuma questioned, but Kai ignored him and said nothing.

"I'll send a limo to pick you up in a month! Good bye!" Mr. Dickenson waved as the vehicle drove down the road and disappeared around the corner. 'I wonder if it was a good idea to let Kai bring along that murderer...' he thought to himself, turning around and beginning his long walk back to the building. "Hopefully, they'll survive...All I can do is pray and wait..."

They've been driving for a few minutes; Akane was staring out the window, preferring to keep to herself. She stared at the passing view with curiousity and fascination. "What strange wonders..." she murmured, staring at a bird flying overhead.

Slowly, sleep began to weigh upon her eyelids. She closed her eyes for a few seconds and then reopened them. They had entered the forest a while later. Over the engine, she heard hoofs. Raising her head, she gazed intensely outside. A black stallion came into view, it dashed across the plains and glanced at the vehicle with little interest. Soon, they took a turn and the stallion was gone.

"I wonder...what does if feel like...to be free..." she murmured.

The car suddenly stopped; every turned to the right to see a beautiful white mansion. Its frontyard contained fountains, benches, a pool, beautiful cherry blossom trees, and the entrance of a maze on the side of the house. It seemed like paradise; there were very few other houses around, it seemed so peaceful, so far away from cities. The air here was fresher and the plants bloomed with magnificence and happiness.

"Alright! Not even a murderer can ruin this vacation!"

Little did they know, that fate had much more in store for them than a mere lone vampire...


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter5:

Meet Krist, the Aiyan

It was late in the middle of the night; everyone was deep in sleep, dreaming about their heart's wishes and muttering random things in their sleep. Akane stepped down the long steps of stairs quietly, not wanting to be bothered by questions as to why she's wandering around in the middle of the night. She walked towards the door and opened it quietly.

**Creeeeeaaaaaaakkk**.

She froze, listening intently for footsteps. When she was sure no one was awoken by the door, she stepped outside and softly closed the exit.

Akane breathed in the fresh air, okay, polluted air, but it's better than the stinky smelly disgusting atmosphere back at the dungeon.

The full moon shown upon her delicate figure, making her look paler than usual: like a ghost. She looked at her surroundings: a pond, a fountain, trees, bushes, and some houses. Nothing big, nothing beautiful, but to her, it was the most lovely sight she's ever laid eyes on.

Akane jumped and landed on a thick, brown branch hidden in the green leaves.

She sighed, closing her eyes and taking another whiff of the air. 'Peace and quiet…'

In the background, crickets chirped and a flute could be heard. It played a beautiful melody that echoed in her mind. She didn't find it unusual that a flute was playing in the middle of the night, she couldn't care less really. It rocked her chaotic heart to sleep and willed the nightmares to wait until next time.

**In the Morning: **

"Not the TV!"

"Stop! GET BACK HERE!"

"HEY, THOSE WERE VALUABLE DISHES YOU JUST BROKE!"

"WAIT! DON'T THROW THOSE OUT THE WINDOW!"

"YOU JUST WASTED PERFECTLY GOOD DONUTS!"

"NNNNNNNNNNNNNOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!"

"STOP RIGHT THERE, DONUT KILLER!"

Akane's eyes snapped open and she turned her head towards the source of the racket; the loud sounds of dishes breaking and screams reached her ears. She winced, cursing her acute hearing.

"What in the world?" the vampire muttered, jumping down from the safety of her tree and walking towards the mansion. She glanced at the sky; the sun was up high in the air and it was killing her. Her slow walk began to pick up into an all out run. If she stayed in the sun's face for too long, she'd burn to death and that was something she didn't want, not when she was free of that man's clutches. As she neared the door, maniacal laughter reached her ears. "That can't be..."

"STOP IT! YOU'RE BREAKING EVERYTHING!" Tyson yelled, swinging the broom in his hands from left to right to try and hit the giggling girl in the air.

The strange girl threw her head back and laughed at his vain attempts, clutching her stomach in pain because of all the laughter. Her cheeks began to flare with ache; it was a long time since she laughed this hard, her body couldn't handle the pressure... "Can't catch me that way!" she laughed.

The girl whacked Tyson in the head and chortled at the top of her lungs when he went tumbling down the stairs. She laughed so hard that tears were falling down her face.

'I thought so...' Akane raised a brow.

"OOF!"

The girl had taken the broom Tyson dropped and whacked someone else in the head...A short little boy with flaring red hair soared across the sky like a bird in the air.

"He can fly! He can fly! He can fly!" she snorted, pointing her finger at Daichi who grabbed ahold of a fan and was desperately trying to find a way down without breaking any limbs...

Daichi slowly moved closer to the floor without letting go; looking down, his vision began to blurr with fright. He took in a deep breath and the released his clutches. "WHAAAA!" he fell upon his butt, "Ouch..." he groaned, rubbing his rear with his hand.

The mysterious girl then began _choking_ on her laughter. "AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA--Can't—AHAHAHAHA--breathe—AHAHAHAHAHAHAHA—AHAHAHA!"

Akane then heard Kai yelling furiously; soon afterwards, she saw everyone plummet down the stairs ungracefully.

"Oof!"

"GEEZ!"

"GET YOUR FOOT OFF ME HEAD!"

"This is not what I planned for today..."

"Ozuma! You're wrecking my hair!"

"My glasses!"

"I can't see!"

Akane stepped over the people on the ground and ventured up the stairs. Looking around, she tried to find the person who started this entire mess. "…Christi…?"

"Akane?" a girl's head appeared through the wall. "Akane!" the girl ran up and embraced her tightly.

"Haven't changed a bit…" Akane sighed, patting her friend's hair.

"Neither have you, old friend…" the girl smiled; she let go of Akane. "Why are you here?"

Akane didn't answer; she looked at the ground, suddenly finding the red carpet very interesting.

"Oh…I see…it's because of HIM isn't it…"

Akane nodded, not removing her gaze from the floor.

The rage inside the girl was boiling; she hated that man's guts! All of the lives he took, all of their innocence, all of the memories, she hated him for what he was: a monster. There was an uncomfortable silence as the she tried her best to stop from going berserk.

"Come on…" Akane said after a while and lead her downstairs.

Krist was greeted with a glare from everyone; she stuck her tongue at them playfully. "Not my fault you guys can't even fall down the stairs with elegance!"

"This is Christi Namone, but she prefers Krist; she's an Aiyan."

"A what?" they were totally lost…

Akane sighed, not wanting to explain everything. "Hopeless mortals…" she muttered. "An Aiyan is half animal; Krist over here is half fox and…she's dead…"

"What do you mean?" Kenny asked hesitantly.

"I mean what I say, she's dead…or maybe we should put it in simpler terms: she's a ghost Aiyan, in other words, a Shikobi. AND if you can't even understand that, here's an even simpler way for your puny minds to comprehend: she's a ghost."

"Hi." Krist smiled, waving at them as if Akane had to explain those terms to humans every day.

"I never knew anyone else besides a few of our friends who were actually alive." Akane informed them.

"What about Akane?" Hilary asked, scratching the back of her head in wonder.

"She's a vampire; she's one of the living dead." Ray replied.

"…Oh…right…"

"For being one of the living dead, she sure has great taste!" Miriam muttered. "I know! And I also love Krist's outfit too!" Hilary smiled as she stared at Krist's clothes.

Krist wore a long white dress, white boots, and her long white hair was in a pony tail as it flowed behind her; her blood red eyes blinked innocently. She had a necklace of the moon, 1 black bracelet on her left arm and a white one on her right arm. Her outfit was simple but very fashionable.

"If she's dead, how come she can touch us?" Dunga asked, getting up and brushing the dust off of himself.

"As long as I have this," she pointed at the black bracelet, "I can touch and hit whomever I want."

"How long have you been dead?" Tyson stared at the ghost. Hilary elbowed him in the side angrily. "OW! What was THAT for!"

"You can't go around asking ghosts how long they've been dead! That's a personal question!"

"…Your point…?"

"UGH! Why do I even bother? He's too stupid to understand…" she sighed, crossing her arms across her chest.

"I AM NOT!" Tyson glared furiously at her; he was starting to wish that Hilary hadn't decided to come along. Sure she was his friend, and she was apart of the team, but she really irritated him, many times a day. Tyson sometimes found himself wondering if it was her hobby to annoy him.

"Geez, they fight like a couple…" Krist smiled.

"We know; we're trying to get them to be one…" Dizzy said.

"Can I help?"

"Of course you can!"

"So…can you answer my question?"

"Huh? Oh, right, I've been dead for like, 10 to 20,000 years." Krist placed her hand under her chin, thinking hard. "Or maybe it was 200,000…or was it 400,000?" she smiled at Tyson. "I've been dead for so long, I can't seem to remember!"

He sweat-dropped, "You say that as if it's a good thing…"

"So how'd you die?" Ray wondered.

A flash of pain and hatred entered her eyes but quickly disappeared.

"That's none of you business." Akane hissed she stepping in front of Krist, as if shielding her from something.

"Oh…I'm sorry, it was rude of me to ask." Ray apologized.

"Krist," she turned around but Krist wasn't there.

"Where'd she go?" Max looked around quizzically.

"I think you hurt her feelings…" Daichi whispered.

"You didn't…just brought back some… memories…" Akane walked up the stairs and left them.

**Lunch:**

"I'm hungry!" Tyson rubbed his stomach in starvation.

"Me too…" Daichi whined. "I want some food…"

As if on cue, Kai walked in with a croissant.

"Ah…It's deluxe…" Daichi stared.

"It's delicious…" Tyson drooled.

"It's gonna be de last you'll see of it!" the feminine voice finished, repeating the lines of a movie the gang saw a few days ago.

They turned around to the owner of the voice and saw Krist smiling innocently.

"If you think you can eat it before WE can, you're dead wrong." Tyson smirked.

"Oh, it's not me that's gonna eat it. By the way, I'm dead right."

"Huh?"

Krist pointed at Kai and they turned around. Just as they did, Kai popped the last part of that croissant into his mouth and walked upstairs.

"NO!" they dropped to their knees and cried.

"They're weird…" she raised a brow and then disappeared.

"Hey Akane!" Krist appeared next to Akane on the rooftop.

"Hn…"

"You want something to eat? I think Kai has some more croissants!"

"I'm not hungry…"

"Are you sure? I've seen lots of the living eating croissants and I hear they taste great!"

"Hn…"

Krist sighed, rubbing her temples. Her friend only went "Hn..." when there was something on her mind. "Okay, what's bothering you?"

Akane didn't answer.

"Is it the abbey?"

Akane cringed at the name; it was obvious that that was what she was pondering about.

"So it is…" Krist sighed again. "Look, you should be happy. You've got new friends…er…roommates… And you're finally free, just as you dreamed of being. And yet, why aren't you celebrating?"

The wind blew the female vampire's hair as it ran past.

"Look, there's only two ways to live your life. One is as if nothing is a miracle. The other, is as everything is a miracle." With that, Krist vanished.

'So she means to tell me that all of that crap I endured at the abbey is a miracle?'

**Dinner:**

"This is great!" Daichi complimented Hilary on her cooking as he stuffed his face.

"Yeah!" Tyson agreed.

"Don't eat too fast you guys, you might--" Tyson and Daichi began choking, braking off Max's sentence. "…Choke…" he sweat-dropped.

"Hey, is Krist gonna eat?" Ray asked.

Akane shook her head, "She's a ghost remember?"

"Right…so…are you gonna eat?"

"No…I don't eat human food…"

**On the Rooftop:**

Krist stood on the rooftop, quietly waiting, watching everything around her even if her eyes were closed. The black clouds shielded the full moon and the stars, the wind shrieked as it flew around the place, roughly disturbing the night trees and animals. Wolves howled in the distance, thunder boomed and lightning flashed.

A figure emerged in front of her in mid air. "Krist…" he nodded.

"It's Aura to you…" she opened her blood red eyes.

All of a sudden, everything went quiet...as if Mother Nature knew the tension that was quickly building between the two siblings.

"It's nice to see you again, ever since you went into exile 10 centuries ago."

"Let's cut the crap and get straight down to business." she spat.

"Well that's an interesting way to greet your only brother after 10,000 years." he rolled his eyes.

She frowned. "Look Kusanagi, I know you didn't decide to come just to say hi, now tell me your businesses or leave."

"Fine, we want you to come back to the tribe."

She scowled, baring her fangs at him. "Never do I want anything to do with that tribe _ever_ again."

"You can't hide from your destiny forever, sister," Kusanagi said.

"Whoever said I was hiding?"

"Denying the facts cannot change the facts. You belong there."

"I don't belong there as much as a duck belongs with a group of pigs." she spat.

"Listen Aura, if you think you belong among humans, you are _sadly_ mistaken." Kusanagi remarked, sliding his hand through his brown hair.

Krist glared at him; so long, she hadn't seen that face for so long, and now, her brother returns his ugly face back into her life, asking her to return to their family after the horrible thing they had did. What did he expect her to say? _Yeah sure, I'll come back_! **_It_ **left such a mark on her, a deep wound that wouldn't heal, even after all of those years.

"I know that I don't belong with these mortals but I also know that I don't belong with the tribe." she said.

"You were born there, you have the mark." He raised his black sleeve and showed her the tattoo that he was also marked with; it was a picture of two dragons, intertwining, and behind it was a full moon.

"Wrong, the mark is for Aiyans, but you forget, I'm a Shikobi."

"That's the same thing, you're still an Aiyan." he shrugged, placing his hands in his pockets.

Krist smirked. "Wrong again. Aiyans are alive, Shikobis are deceased. There's a _big_ difference if you haven't noticed."

"You are a disgrace! The tribe needs you and you turn your back on them!"

"You're not my family!" she argued back. "I was stripped of the Tatibana title long ago! You know that as well as I do…"

Kusanagi stared at her with pleading eyes. "But you can regain it…"

"I never said I wanted that title." Krist crossed her arms and turned her head to the left, staring at the black skies above her.

"Fine," he glared ice daggers at Krist. "I'm disappointed in you sister," He turned around vanished without a trace.

The wind blew her hair brutally as precipitation fell from the heavens above. Turning her head to where her brother once stood, she glowered.

**'I'm disappointed in you sister,'** his last words echoed within her mind over and over again, like a broken sound track.

"As I'm disappointed in you brother…"

* * *


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter6:

Krist

Aura (Jin: That's Krist, remember?) walked in the dark dojo quietly, a murderous aura surrounding her. The only light came from the moon. Her white hair flowed behind her; in the moonlight, she looked transparent, you could tell she's a ghost. Her white fox ears twitched as her 3 fox tails swished about.

"Aura…" she jerked her head towards the voice, her eyes turning into slits, a low growl emitted from her throat as she bared her fangs and her aura increased in size. "It's just me…" Akane stepped out of the shadows, a serious expression plagued her features. Aura's eyes returned to normal, her growl ceased, and her aura decreased in size.

"Yes?" her soft, petrifying voice broke the silence.

"Kusanagi…" Akane said, never taking her eyes off of Aura. Aura scowled at the name and a soft growl began again.

"What about him?"

They want you back…don't they…" Aura nodded slowly, her growl never stopping.

"Will…will you go back…" The vampire's features softened and her voice became a soft whisper.

"Of course not…Why would I leave my best friend all alone?" Aura answered. Her fox features disappeared as the murderous aura evaporated.

Akane lowered her head, her bangs shielding her eyes. "…Because everyone else did…"

**Sunrise: **

The bright orb in the sky slowly rose. Kai sighed as he watched it emerge in the atmosphere in all its glory. 'A Shikobi and a vampire…' Kai laid down with his hands behind his head, staring at the clouds that slowly floated by. 'A ghost and one of the living dead…'

**What else has the world been hiding? **Dranzer chuckled.

'Dranzer, have you felt a dark aura around Krist?' he asked his most faithful and trusted friend.

She thought about it for a while before giving him an answer. **…It's faint but it's there…Although, she's such an optimistic ghost… **

'Yeah…I know…so why would she have such a dark aura surrounding her…?'

**There's a lot more pieces missing than you think… **

Kai, lost in his thoughts, didn't hear Dranzer call his name.

**'That boy thinks too much…'**

'She looks pure…so why is her aura tainted black…?' Kai stared at a floating cloud that took the shape of Krist. 'They're hiding something…'

**Unidentified Location:**

"Did you find her?" an Aiyan asked, sitting on his throne, his face hidden by the shadows.

"Yes…" Kusanagi answered, bowing before him. "But…she will not come back…"

A growl escaped the king's lips. "Curse that girl and her stubbornness…she never did obey a word we said…"

"But do not worry sire, we will persuade her to see it our way…with force…if necessary…"

"You better, because it's your head that'll be dangling in the Hall of Shame if you don't."

A strong gust hit them, knocking Kusanagi off his feet. He growled angrily at the shadow standing on the windowsill, smirking at his fallen opponent.

"He's here…"

**Back to the Dojo:**

"Where's Krist?" Hilary asked when she didn't see the optimistic appear to give them a greeting.

Akane didn't answer, instead, she walked out the door and disappeared from sight.

"…what's wrong with her?" Max said.

They shrugged and walked towards the kitchen.

"WHAT THE HELL!" Daichi shouted as he stared at Kai.

The curtains covered the window as Kai peeked behind it every now and then. But what shocked them was what Kai was holding: a gun.

"KAI! What the hell do you think you're doing with a **gun**!" Dunga whispered harshly.

He ignored them. Kai peeked out from behind the curtains and then scowled. He reached into his pocket and threw a black pistol at Ozuma.

"Don't give me this weapon!" Ozuma screamed frantically and threw the gun onto the ground.

"Pick the damn thing up!" Kai glared.

Ozuma didn't, he just stared at Kai, actually, everyone did. They never knew Kai carried guns. Hell, they never even knew that he knows how to work one!

"Are you deaf? Or are you just slow! Pick up the gun unless you want to die."

Ozuma hesitantly picked it up.

"So, you've had a gun all along and you never even bothered to tell us?" Tyson stared in disbelief.

"No time for small talk." Kai opened a drawer and threw a gun to Miriam and Dunga while he threw knives at the rest.

"Geez!" Daichi sceeched, barely catching the knife in his hands. He was lucky enough that it didn't pierce his flesh. "Don't throw knives!"

"What do we need these for?" Ray asked.

Kai ignored the question and walked past them. He entered the living room and locked the doors and windows. "Go hide upstairs and whatever happens, don't scream, leave your weapons, or separate." They did as they were told; even though they were still clueless about the situation.

After they left, Akane walked out of the shadows.

"Are you sure they can handle themselves…?" the vampire raised a brow at him.

"They'll be fine…"

"The fat one isn't fit enough to fight and the blonde one is too hyper; he can jump right in the middle of a bullet shower if he eats sugar…"

"Which is why I told them NOT to split up. If one is in trouble, the other will bail him out."

She walked back in the shadows and disappeared.

Kai glanced out the window once more before running up the stairs.

As soon as he reached the top, the door broke down. Men dressed in black carried machine guns. They look very suspicious; how in the world did they get there without causing a comotion!

**There's one of them!** A Russian man pointed at Kai.

He cursed under his breath. 'They've spotted me.' He hid behind a small table as bullets started raining down on him.

**BOOM! BANG! BOOM! BAGN! BANG! BANG! BOOM!**

Kai covered his ears and kept a firm grip on his gun. It was like a dream; he never imagined to be in such situation, he never even imagined holding a gun! But still, there he was, holding a gun, crouching behind a table, and trying not to get himself killed.

Soon the bullets stopped, and he could hear the men mutter things under their breath..

'They're reloading; now's the time to shoot back.' he thought. Standing up, he aimed and fired. He was trying to buy time for his friends to find a way out; either that, or he was trying to get the enemy to retreat. Kai wasn't a murderer, he didn't want to be one and he never will, but he had to use the gun to save his life.

**BOOM! BANG!**

He shot a few in their legs but mostly he aimed at the arms and hands. They all dropped their guns and cursed in foreign languages, screaming at the pain they felt.

Getting up, Kai pushed the table down the stairs; he heard them scream in shock as the table flipped and spinned down the stairs. Running down the hallway, he entered room 28. Slamming the door shut he locked it and then blocked the entrance with a desk. Leaning against the wooden table, he panted heavily. Sweat dripped down the side of his face and his hands were wet with perspiration. Kai heard movement, from behind the bed. He looked up in caution, his gun ready to fire.

**Bang!**

Ozuma jumped out from behind the bed and fired at Kai. Luckily, Kai caught sight of Ozuma's hair and ducked just in time.

"What the hell are you trying to do! Shoot my head plain off my neck!" Kai yelled.

"It was an accident, I thought you were one of the people I heard shooting and yelling in different languages. It's not my fault." Ozuma rolled his eyes.

"You're not gonna be rolling your eyes when I shoot you in the head." Kai muttered. "Where are the others?"

"Over here." Miriam and Ray jumped down from the ceiling, Tyson, Max, and Kenny crawled out from under the bed, and Hilary, Daichi, and Dunga walked out of the closets.

"You saw me from the ceiling so why didn't you tell Ozuma?" A vein was throbbing in Kai's head; he was obviously pissed from the event.

"We tried… actually, HE tried," Miriam pointed at Ray, "But I stopped him because I wanted to see if you could survive."

'She said that a little too cheerful for my liking…' Kai scowled at her.

**Somewhere in the Elinoor Galaxy:**

"AH!" blood splattered everywhere as the whip came in contact with the girl's flesh. She screamed in pain as the knife pierced her right arm. Another whip, another scream; another pierce, another shriek. Her breaths came out ragged and heavy, for her, breathing was like experiencing hell.

"Hahahaha!" her tormentors laughed wickedly.

"How does that feel Lyoto?" one of them whispered as they leaned towards her. He licked some blood off her face; she growled menacingly at him.

"Shut up beautiful, cause' tomorrow's gonna be a LONG day…" he licked her again and then left with his laughing partner.

She kicked the wall behind her and it left large dent. "**#974 98T$ # (Ygjd." **She cursed angrily in her language.

Blood covered the cell she stayed in. The only light came from the moon and stars. There wasn't a sound to hear. No crickets, no birds, nothing…It's as if all life on the planet ceased to live. Behind the barred windows, there were no trees to be seen, never was sunlight seen. No animals, no insects…no life. Nothing. Snow covered every inch of land. The sun was nowhere to be seen. No clouds where in the black sky. Never morning, but always night. Many stars can be seen, but none of them illuminated enough light for the world. No plants, no oxygen, no life. The only people you'll see for miles is a small village. The only sunlight to be seen is in the village. 5 Inches away, nothing. Only sand and the skeletons of the dead.

**Back in Japan:**

"…Are they gone…?" Hilary whispered. Dunga looked out the window as Daichi peeked out the door; slowly and quietly, the small boy stayed by the wall and walked down the hallway. Peering down the stairs, he saw no one. Blood was splattered on the ground and a desk was turned upside down.

"Looks like it…" Dunga answered.

"No one's in the hallways." Daichi said as he closed the door. "There aren't any traces of bodies but there's A LOT of blood.

"I'm hungry, let's eat!" Tyson and Daichi smiled.

"We were almost MURDERED and you guys want to EAT!" Hilary shrieked.

"Hil's right you guys, we should be figuring out why they tried to kill us and how did they know we're staying here." Max said.

"So, you survived after all…" they jerked their heads towards the door to see Akane.

"You're a vampire, so why didn't you help us!" Kenny screamed, throwing his hands up in the air and glaring at her, though no one could really tell, seeing as how his hair covered his face and all...

Akane shrugged. "I had other business that I had to attend to…" she said.

"What could be more important than us! Your friends!" Tyson glared.

"I never said you were my friends and I never will." she glared.

Everyone was speechless.

She turned around. "Come, we must move, if they know we're here then it's not safe anymore…" she disappeared after that.

**Somewhere in the Elinoor Galaxy:**

**She's been all alone**

**She cries all alone**

**And she'll die all alone…**

The bloody girl stared out the barred windows, staring deeply into the silver orb in the sky. The wind blew quietly, ruffling her hair as if it was her mother, mourning for the girl's tragic loss: her freedom. A star shot across the night sky.

**"…Make a wish…" **whispered the wind.

'I wish…'

"I wish to be free…"

**Back in Japan:**

"Where's Krist?" Kai asked as he jumped onto the roof.

Akane didn't answer but instead continued to stare at the starry sky.

"Where's Krist?" he asked again. He sat next to her and gazed at the sky also. He turned to face her and calmly asked again. **"Akane, answer the question: Where's Krist?"**

Tears streamed down her face. With a heartbreaking voice, she whispered her answer. "…she's gone…"


	7. Chapter 7

Disclaimer: I do not own the lyrics to that song (the one in bold.) I don't own the beyblade, but I own the OCs and the plot, not matter how sucky it is...

Chapter7:

Krist?

"She's gone? What do you mean? That she mysteriously disappeared without any trace of where she went?"

A soft wind whirled around them; the moonlight traced their figure.

Akane sadly and slowly nodded.

'That creates a problem…' Kai sighed. He grabbed Akane's hand and quietly led her to her room. "Get some rest, you're gonna need it…" Kai said as he closed her door.

Akane sighed. 'You promised you wouldn't leave…' tears welled up at the corner of her eyes.

**"Of course not…why would I leave my best friend all alone?" **

'Liar…'

**"We're gonna be together forever!" **

'Liar…'

**"You, me, Tala, Lyoto, and Xena will always be together!" **

'Liar…'

**"I will NEVER forget you…" **

"**LIAR!**" Akane threw a pillow at the wall, creating a dent in it. The wall, not the pillow, mind you.

The room seemed to darken, fitting the mood she was in; as if it saddened…The window was open, showing the dark sky, but no stars shined. A wolf howled somberly at the full moon, crying its heart out, unseen tears falling down its face.

With tears falling down her cheeks, she sat down on her bed.

**"Is your heart broken?"** the wind whispered, watching her, sadden that it can't do anything to help.

"How can my heart break, when it wasn't even whole to begin with…" she answered with a heartbreaking voice. Her eyes showed different emotions, angered and depressed that her friend left, and confused as to why she left.

**"God of reconciliation, heal our wounds in darkest times…"**

Her mouth may not be moving, but you can hear her heart cry out in pain.

**"In the mist of fear and violence make our lives a prayer of peace…"**

She tried to stop the tears from falling, but try as she might, it was in vain. She can't cover up her feelings.

**"Father of the broken hearted guide us home to Heaven's shores…"**

Her cries were muffled by the door and walls. She stared at the ceiling, but not seeing what is there.

**"God can help you, child. All you have to do is believe…"**

"…There's no such thing as God…" she whispered. "If there was, where was he all my life?" She heard no answer.

…**Somewhere…:**

"LEAVE ME A-"

"LYOTO!"

A girl turned around and gasped, but then smiled. "XENA!"

They embraced each other fondly; hearts singing with joy.

"Girl, why didn't you bother to visit? Do you know how long I've been stuck in this castle on this planet, acting over and over again?" Lyoto wore a long black dress, her black hair was tied behind her, flowing softly in the breeze from the open window; her lavender eyes gleaming brightly. Xena, on the other hand, wore a white dress and she had unusual silver hair; her blue eyes shimmering happily.

"I would love to talk about you with what has happened these past 7 years but we have some SERIOUS problems." Xena said seriously.

"What?" Lyoto shooed her guards out of her room and locked the door. "Tell me EVERYTHING."

"…Krist's gone."

Lyoto raised a brow, thinking that Xena was stupid or something. "Of course she is: she's DEAD." she said.

"No, I thought she was transparent because she was an alien." Xena rolled her eyes. "Of course I know she's dead, what I mean is that she's gone. Poof, disappeared, evaporated off the face of the planet!"

Lyoto gasped. "Oh…Well, how is Akane taking it?"

Xena laughed nervously. "Not very well…"

There was an awkward silence; Lyoto was taking it in pretty well, although her insides were screaming with fear.

"And that's ANOTHER reason why we have to find her!" Lyoto grabbed Xena's wrist and led her out the door and to her garage, where a hover car waited.

"I call shotgun!" Xena cried happily.

**Back on Earth:**

"We have to do something." Ray said. "She's practically locked herself up in there!"

"Don't you think we know that?" Tyson said, "Right now, we need a place to stay because this mansion is a death house!"

"…wow, Tyson finally said something SMART for once…" Hilary stared.

"This is definitely NOT the time Hilary." Tyson glared.

"He's right," Kenny started typing on his laptop but then stopped and looked up, completely shocked. "Boy, that sounded weird…" and then he continued with his research.

"I think we could stay at a hotel, I mean Mr. Dickenson would love to help us, right?" Max suggested.

"I don't know, I mean, if they knew that we were here, than obviously that they're gonna find us if we're gonna stay in a hotel. Either they have some high technology with them or we have a spy on our hands." Ozuma dismissed Max's idea as he sat down.

Max sighed, flopping down a leather couch and burying his face into his hands. "This is hopeless."

"Maybe we could stay at an abandon ware house." Miriam thought.

"Pfft, no way am I staying at another one. I see rats EVERYWHERE!" Dunga glared.

"Fine, then you think of something because it's getting late and a girl's gotta get her beauty sleep on." Miriam got up followed by Hilary.

"I'm with her; don't stay up too late guys." Hilary said; they bid their good nights and stepped up the stairs.

"Beauty sleep is NOT gonna help them." Dunga snorted. A shoe came in contact with his head.

"OW! OW!" and another one…

"Stupid girls…" he mumbled as he kicked the shoes.

"We need to be more cautious of everything we do. We can't risk another battle." Kai said. He leaned against the wall and glanced out the window just to make sure they were alone.

"He's right, what we need to focus on now is where we're gonna go." Kenny nodded. "It's gotta be somewhere isolated but close to a small town where we can get supplies."

"The best place would be a forest." Ozuma walked over to a table and started shuffling papers around to find something. "Here it is." He sat back down and laid out the old worn out map. "The forest that closest to us is about 150 miles away,"

"If we go in the morning, we'd probably reach it around 5." Daichi guessed. "Maybe,"

"If we go now, we could probably get there by sunrise!" Tyson exclaimed.

"I don't know, I mean, Akane isn't in the shape to be moving around." Kenny placed his hand under his chin.

"Well she won't be moving around! The car's doing all the work!"

"Hey Tyson, do you have a driver's license?" Ray raised a brow.

"…No…"

"That's what I thought…"

**Ding!**

Everyone turned their heads to Kai who was currently staring out the window. But of course, he could feel their stares. He sighed in defeat. "Yes, I do have a driver's license…"

**With Akane: **

**Akane's POV:**

I stared out the window. I looked outside; I thought that I could find the answers to my questions. But all I saw was white: frozen white water: snow. I felt a soft breeze coming, but I didn't mind, I found it—dull…My watery eyes turned to the sky.

"Why?" my voice cracked and more tears fell. It's been a long time since I cried. The sky seemed to darken in my question. Truly, I wanted to die at that very moment. I'd rather die than be left alone. I'd rather be one of the dead, trapped in your coffin under the ground than have to suffer all of this pain. But I knew that it wasn't right. Committing suicide does not solve anything; that's the cowards' way out.

Although my heart was in pieces again, I am determined to find out why she ditched me like that. After all that we've been through, I just can't believe that it meant NOTHING to her. I just can't make myself believe that. We've fought the undead, we suffered the deaths of loved ones, we experienced rejection. No one is that heartless, we all have a soul, no matter what everyone says.

As a matter of fact, we made a promise on this day; all of us. 12 years ago, and everything looked exactly like this.

**Flashback:**

"Look everyone! It's snowing!" a little silver headed girl ran outside in the snow, dancing and laughing wildly.

"Wait up!" cried a little black girl. She ran after her best friend but she tripped over a white rock.

"AH!" she fell down, crying silently.

"Are you okay, Lyoto?" a kind, soft, male voice asked her. She looked up, wiping the tears away.

"I'm fine…" she said, sniffling. He lent her his hand, smiling warmly. "Thank-you…"

"No problem!" the redhead gave her a tender hug.

"Aww…Looks like somebody's in love!" They turned their heads and saw the smiling ghost.

"We are not Krist!" they blushed.

The delicate snow lightly fell onto their bodies, "It's so beautiful…" Akane whispered. The snow seemed to have a white glow outlining its figure, giving it an angelic presence. "Do they come every month?"

"No silly!" Krist laughed. "They only come when it's really cold! And that's usually December."

"Hey everyone," they saw the redhead, smiling gleefully. "Lyoto's making snow angels!"

They grinned and trotted after him through the snow. The group of friends all lied down in the snow, staring at the starry sky.

"I wished this day wouldn't end…" he sighed.

"Me two…" Lyoto said as she snuggled closer to her "future boyfriend".

"…Do you think that we'll be together in the future?" Xena whispered.

"Of course!" Krist said. "Right everybody?"

"Yeah," Akane grinned childishly.

"Yup!" Xena beamed.

"Always," Lyoto and Tala said.

"Then it's settled; no matter how far we will be apart in the future, our hearts will always be intertwined together. Let the stars and the Heavens above be our witness."

**End Flashback:**

I wish it was still like that; I wish that we were still together, laughing, playing in the snow, hijacking cars and playing pranks on the innocent civilians. We would never have to worry about anything, we would always be together. I laughed out loud. My voice sounded cold and hollow, just like my heart.

Ha, 'always be together', what a bunch of b.s. I can't believe that we were actually naïve enough to believe that we would always be together. Time moves on, it doesn't wait for anyone, but my time stays in one place, I don't get older, I don't get younger, I'll never die, and I'll never really live. Because I'm not human, I don't need emotions, I'm better off without it. That's who I wanted to be, that's who I became, and that's who I am.

**With Krist: **

"KRIST!"

"What?" she asked, annoyance showing very well in her voice. Krist walked up to the man sitting on the throne, her foot tapping on the ground. "What is it you want? New shoes? A new throne? Maybe a BRAIN!"

"Don't you speak to Father like that!" Kusanagi yelled. "Show some respect!"

"You better shut that trap of yours 'cause I do what I want whenever I want! I chose to come here and help you freaks of nature and I can choose to leave so you better watch what you say to me!" Krist smirked.

"Kusanagi, she's right, do not anger her or our efforts will be in vain." Father said.

Growling, Kusanagi walked away, his arms were crossed, so was his face.

**With the Bladebreakers:**

"Alright everyone, grab the things that are important," Ray ordered, and then turned to Tyson and Daichi, giving them a warning glare, close enough to kill them, but we know how nice Ray is, no? "And that DOESN'T include junk food,"

"Aw…" they whined, putting the chips and donuts back.

Kai got up and walked towards the stairs when Ray stopped him.

"Kai, tell the girls too," Kai nodded and paced up the steps.

**KNOCK KNOCK!**

Kai waited patiently before the door, waiting for the vampire to let him in. A few more minutes of waiting…just a few more…not yet…keep on waiting…okay, now. He opened the door and stepped into the dark room. "Akane?" he said, looking around.

She sat near the window, staring out at the twinkling Heavens above. "Hey," he whispered, walking towards her. "I thought I told you to get some rest, as in sleep."

"Hmm…" she muttered with little interest in the conversation.

He grabbed her shoulder and pulled her up. "Come on, we have to go, it's too dangerous to stay here."

Akane nodded, strolling towards the door. After she left, Kai sat on the bed, sighing deeply. He could sense the tension in the room. 'All this time she was worrying about Krist. About why she left, about the past, about her crappy life so far.' He sighed again.

A crash was suddenly heard from downstairs.

'What the hell was that?' Kai opened the door and trotted down the stairs, followed by Hilary and Miriam. The three of them gasped at the scene before them. There she was, standing in front of the broken window, a grim face plagued her features. Akane stood in the middle of the room, frozen to the spot, her breathing came out ragged and heavy.

"K-Krist?"


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter 8:

Attack of the Squirrels!

"K-Krist?"

Krist stood on the window pane with a grim expression on her face. Her blood red eyes stared only at Akane; she lost her ghostly body.

"Krist—you're—you're alive!" Akane ran up to her and poked her arm. "Literally! I can't believe it! How—how is this even possible?"

"A forbidden ritual," she answered, "Akane, I've not come to chit chat. I've come to warn you."

"What's there for us to be warned about?" Hilary said.

Choosing to ignore Hilary, Krist continued, "Akane, you must be careful. Something is about to happen, but I can't tell you what because I'm not even sure myself."

"But, you'll help us, right?" Akane asked hopefully. Even after everything that's happen, hope still clung to what's left of her heart. As long as Krist was here, her heart can slowly mend. One day at a time.

Krist shook her head, her harsh expression never leaving her pale face. Bags were under her eyes, as if she spent each night staying up instead of slumbering. Instead of her regular white, she wore all black. It showed her gloomy expression. "I'm not here to stay Akane; I'm risking my neck for even coming here! No matter what happens, Akane, you must remember this," Krist bent down and hugged Akane tightly. Shutting her eyes so that all she could sense was her best friend. It seemed like an eternity passed since they've been together. "I will always be your friend,"

"And you mine," Akane whispered back, tears slipping past their barriers.

And in a split second, she was gone and all that was left was a white mist.

Wiping her eyes, Akane pushed through the trio. "Come on, we're leaving."

"But we haven't even started packing yet!" Miriam reminded her.

"Then hurry up and start!" Akane barked. She switched her gaze to the ground; she seemed to have changed, she's not the crying little vampire she was before. She's different; she's found a new inspiration. "If Krist can still fight, then so can I!"

Thirty minutes later, everyone was packed and ready to go. "So, where are we going?" Hilary asked as she pulled a coat over her body.

"A cabin in the forest." Ozuma folded the map and stuffed it in his jacket pocket.

"And you know there's a cabin in the forest how?"

They froze.

"We don't," Kenny sighed, "It's just an assumption. But if we don't have a cabin, we can probably find a cave or somewhere safe."

"And you're positive?"

They froze again, "No," Kenny answered with another sigh. "But it's the only chance we've got."

"Is there a car around here?" Dunga looked out the window.

"Mr. Dickenson has one in the garage. I'm not sure if he'll mind if we take it." Max said, walking out of the living room and towards a locked door next to the stairs. He took out a paper clip and began picking the lock. After twenty seconds, they heard a click and Max pushed the door open.

"Who cares if he wants us to take it or not!" Daichi scoffed.

**Creak**…

"It's a life or death situation we're in; he'll understand," Kai told them, grabbing the car keys off of the table next to the garage door.

The garage was like a regular house. It contained five different cars: a Toyota, a Honda, a Mitsubishi, a Limo, and a Porsche.

Tyson grinned from ear to ear, "Let's grab the Limo!"

"Yeah! I'm with you Tyson!" Daichi grinned, jumping on the Limo and spreading his arms as if he could hug it.

"No, the Porsche!" Max argued; standing by the silver Porsche as Tyson stared into the Limo's dark windows.

"No way! I bet the Limo has food!"

"Yeah! And we need food!" Daichi kissed the vehicle with love.

"No," Kai stated firmly, walking over to the Toyota with the silver keys jingling noisily in his hand, "I'm the driver and I say we grab the Toyota and leave!"

"What! Kai, you have a horrible taste in cars!" Tyson yelled, hugging the Limo.

"Tyson, we're not trying to catch attention so we can't use the Limo!" Ray said, pulling Tyson off of the Limo before he breaks it.

"Fine, but I call shotgun!"

"No, I call shotgun!" Daichi argued, running towards the car.

"I've got the map, so I call shotgun." Ozuma smirked and sat in the car before Tyson or Daichi could.

He pouted, "Fine! But if your life's in danger, don't expect me to save you!"

They've been driving for awhile now and all they saw was the country side. They didn't pass a car the entire time they were on the road. Kenny was worried that they'll be seen because they can't blend in with anything since they were the only ones on the road. It was late at night; everyone was asleep except for Kai and Ozuma.

Ozuma looked behind them, making sure they didn't miss a car.

"Stop worrying, we're the only ones on the road," Kai rolled his eyes.

"It's better to be safe than sorry, my friend." Ozuma answered, turning around and facing the front of the road.

"How much food did we bring?" Kai asked a few minutes later.

"How come you didn't ask before we left?" Ozuma sighed, "I'm pretty sure Tyson and Daichi stacked up on food."

"Yeah, junk food,"

"Hilary was with them when they were packing. I'm pretty sure she told—er, commanded—them to grab something healthy also, you know how she is." Ozuma ran a hand threw his hair, "Anyways, I'm gonna get some sleep."

Kai nodded, keeping his eyes on the road.

An hour passed after Ozuma fell asleep. Kai had stopped by a gas station and refilled the tank. Afterwards, he walked in the store to buy a few things. Lucky for him, the man sells first aid kits; he brought at least five of them. Like Ozuma said: "It's better to be safe than sorry." He brought water bottles, blankets and pillows, flashlights and batteries (strange, I know; flashlights, batteries, blankets, and pillows being sold in a gas station), and some pocketknives.

"Is that all you want, mister?" the man said, handing Kai his $3.32 change. He scratched his brown hair and scratched his nose.

"Hn…," Kai nodded.

"Are you alone?"

"Hn…"

"Where are you going at this time?"

"Hn…"

"Not talkative are ya?"

Kai scowled, annoyed with all of the questions. "I suggest you mind your own business."

"Ok, sheesh, sorry I asked!"

Kai opened the door and stepped out into the night. A breeze rustled the trees and an owl hooted. Thousands of stars could be seen in the night sky; a full moon was out; he could hear a long mournful howl off into the distance.

The bushes rustled; Kai whipped to his right and glared at whatever was hiding in there. It rustled again; all light disappeared. He looked up; a gray cloud hid the moon from view. Slowly, cautiously, Kai walked over to the bushes. Taking out the pocketknife, he held it before him, ready to strike if it attacked. He held his breath as sweat beads slid down the side of his face.

A cat jumped out. "Meow,"

He fell to the ground and let out the breath he held. Putting away the pocket knife, he stood up and walked towards the car.

"Meow," the cat—black as the night itself—purred affectionately as it rubbed against his leg.

Kai bent down and stroked it; the cat purred against his touch. He sighed, "Come on," It climbed up his arm and on his shoulder. He turned around and walked back into the store. Strangely, the man sold cat food. What a coincidence.

As he walked back to the car, he thought of a name. "How about…Neko?" he said, looking at the cat; it hissed. "Okay…Kuroneko, meaning black cat."

"Meow." He purred happily.

Kai opened the car door and entered, shutting it behind him.

"Meow,"

Ozuma gradually opened his eyes and stared up at the roof of the vehicle. He heard purring next to him; he turned his head and saw a pair of golden feline eyes staring back at him. He blinked a couple of times and then rubbed his eyes, making sure it was real and not a hallucination. "Um…Kai…a cat? A black cat? You know how unlucky a black cat is?"

Kai raised a brow, starting the car, "I didn't know you were superstitious."

"I'm not, but I think Dunga is."

"Dunga? He doesn't seem like the type." He drove back onto the road, glancing at the clock. 4:16 A.M.

"Hm…neither did I, until I found a book about superstitions underneath his pillow."

The two quietly chuckled; after that was total silence.

About ten minutes passed until Kai turned a corner. When he did, he saw that he wasn't the only one on the road: a black minivan was driving along side him. The windows were too dark for him to see who was driving the vehicle. It picked up speed and then turned left where they were now in front of the gang.

Kai scowled, knowing exactly who they were: stalkers (DUN DUN DUN!).

The minivan's back window opened; three men, each loaded with pistols, aimed at them.

He cursed underneath his breath. "Hold on tight, Kuroneko!"

**BANG! BANG! BANG!**

They fired one after the other; Kai swerved the car to the right and broke the speed limit. He swerved the car to the right once more to avoid another bullet.

"Kai! What the hell do you think you're doing!" Dunga screamed as he held onto the armrest.

"Kai! You're breaking the speed limit!" Hilary shrieked.

"Are you **trying** to get us killed!" Tyson and Daichi yelled.

**BANG! BANG! BANG!**

Ozuma turned around towards the source of the bangs and grimaced, "We're being attacked!"

Dunga noticed the black cat clinging onto Kai and pointed at it with hatred. "You picked up a friggin black cat! Those things are bad luck! It's your entire fault that this is happening! Get rid of it!"

"Sorry Dunga but I'm not superstitious!"

They all swung to the left as the car veered to the right and headed straight into the woods.

Branches slammed at the car; the automobile jumped up and down because of the rough terrain they entered.

"We're gonna die!" Tyson yelped, clutching onto his seatbelt for dear life.

Finally, they reached the dirt road; the trees ceased their attacks and the car discontinued to leap into the sky.

"Did we lose them?" Miriam turned around and saw no sign of the enemy.

Everyone released their held breaths. But then, an innocent squirrel jumped in the middle of the road with an acorn. "KAI! SQUIRREL!" they shrieked, pointing at the terrified animal in the way.

"What the!" The car turned sharply to the left and rammed straight into an oak tree.

"…Stupid squirrel…"


End file.
